FIG. 1 is perspective view of a conventional exercise step. As shown in the drawing, the conventional exercise step 100 includes a rectangular panel 110, and four legs 130. The legs 130 are provided at four corners of the panel 110 under the panel 110, and are made of elastic materials. A foot contact plate 120 is provided at a top surface of the panel 110. Actually, a user's feet are in contact with the foot contact plate 120 of the panel 110.
When one desires to exercise using the exercise step 100, the exercise step 100 having such a construction is placed on a flat surface, that is, a floor. Thereafter, a user repeatedly steps onto and off of the foot contact plate 120 of the panel 110. Or, the user jumps on the foot contact plate 120. At this time, a load of the user is transmitted from the foot contact plate 120 and the panel 110 through the legs 130 to the support surface.
In this case, the legs 130 are elastically deformed to absorb a load applied to the panel 110, thus preventing a shock from being transmitted to the user's knees. That is, such an exercise step 100 prevents a user's knees from being injured, when the user repeatedly steps onto and off of the foot contact plate 120 or jumps on the foot contact plate 120 of the exercise step 100.
However, the conventional exercise step 100 has a problem that only the legs 130 are made of a cushioning material, such as polyurethane, so a cushioning capacity of the exercise step 100 is insufficient to prevent a shock from being transmitted to a user's knees. Thus, the conventional exercise step 100 does not sufficiently prevent a shock from being transmitted to a user's knees and allow the user to exercise safely and comfortably.
Further, the conventional exercise step 100 has another problem that only the legs 130 have a cushioning capacity, so the foot contact plate 120 and the panel 110 may be undesirably deformed when the exercise step 100 is used for a lengthy period of time. The conventional exercise step 100 has a further problem that the cushioning capacity of the legs 130 is not controlled, so a different exercise step must be purchased according to a user's weight.